Turkey Chili with White Beans

You can't get much more comforting than a bowl of chili. Add some cornbread and it just gets that much better. Unfortunately the cornbread gets put on hold when you realize your kids have drank all the milk. So what do you do with 2 sticks of butter that you have already melted? Make some chocolate chip cookies! So it all works out. Anyway, I love trying out new chili recipes. I'm a fan of regular old ground beef chili. I also make a turkey chili without tomatoes. I even like to make a white chicken chili. I was searching for a recipe the other day because I wanted something to make with some ground turkey. I thought of chili but I wanted to do something new. I found this recipe from Bon Appetit and was intrigued by the use of cinnamon and cocoa. I'm so glad I tried this recipe. It was really tasty. The cilantro on top is a must. It adds a flavor that you can't get from anything else. The only change I made to the recipe was to use half the amount of chili powder because spicy foods are not agreeing with my nursing infant. It still had a wonderful flavor.



Recipe (Serves 4 plus leftovers)

1 T olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped (I used 1 large)
1 1/2 t dried oregano
1 1/2 t ground cumin
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey
1/4 cup chili powder (I used 2 T)
2 bay leaves
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes
3 cups beef stock
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
3 (15 oz) cans white beans, rinsed, drained (I used cannelini beans)
Chopped red onion
Chopped fresh cilantro
sour cream or plain yogurt

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onions until tender, about 10 minutes. Add oregano and cumin and cook for 1 minute.
Increase heat to medium high , add turkey, and cook until no longer pink. Add chili powder, bay leaves, cocoa powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add tomatoes and break up with spoon. Add stock and tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans and simmer 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves. Ladle chili into bowls and serve with cilantro, sour cream, and onion.